Netanyahu Proposes Palestinians New Settlement Freeze in Exchange for Recognition of Israel

In an attempt to find a way to continue the direct talks with the Palestinians, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, made a proposition to the Palestinian National Authority on Monday which contains the promise to freeze the settlement building in West Bank in exchange for the recognition of the Jewish state.

Netanyahu said at the opening of the 18^th Knesset that if the Palestinian leaders agree to tell the Palestinians that “Israel is the homeland of Jewish people” he would be ready to convene the government “to request a further suspension.” The Palestinian leaders refused the proposition instantaneously.

Just as Palestinians expect us to recognize their state they must recognize our, Netanyahu continued, emphasizing that this mutual recognition of the state would build a wide-range trust between the two parties.

Nabil Abu Rdainah, spokesman for the President Abbas, said that the “question of Jewishness” is not in issue here, and cannot be made a condition in these talks, which can be resumed in the format proposed by the Americans only if the settlement building stops.

Netanyahu said Israel was ready to make some concessions in the peace process and said that Palestinians waited for ten months and now they demand continuation of the freeze. “I hope,” he added, “this is not a ploy in order to avoid the sacrifices that must be made” on Palestinian side for the peace process to be achieved.

Israeli PM also said, in the Knesset speech, that “the Zionist state erected an exemplary democracy,” where the Jews and the non-Jews are equal before the law.

The PM emphasized the importance of the Jewish state as the only state for the Jewish people in the world, and he reminded that Ben Gurion had created a state of the Jews not with Jewish residents in it.

“No other country ensures the rights of the minority population like Israel does,” he said.

Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni accused Netanyahu of being the one who lack the leadership, and the capacity to make important decisions. “If your interest is the coalition you will not make the right decision.”

She also accused him of putting Israel in a very delicate position on the international stage, where the Jewish state is now perceived as a weak state, losing good friends and antagonizing the leader of the free world, “the source of its [Israel’s] strength.”

President Peres spoke to the Parliament stressing out that the two-state solution is imperative. “There is a majority for the principle of two states for Israelis and Palestinians.”

Peres said that the continuation of settlement building could be solved if the two parties agreed upon a map of the two states. That could solve the problem because many of the settlements built now could fall into the Israeli borders.

At this point the President of Israel was interrupted by right wing Members of Knesset Ya’akov Katz, Uri Ariel and Michael Ben Ari.

The speeches in the Knesset come in continuation of mutual accusations made by all sides involved in an attempt to put the blame on the supposed dialogue partner.

Thus, Israeli PM accused the Palestinians of having stalled until the 10-month moratorium was over because they didn’t want to assume responsibility for the concessions they have to make.

According to a Foreign Ministry classified document published yesterday by the Maariv newspaper Israel is also accusing the U.S. for pressing on Israel to prolong the freeze moratorium.

Palestinians consider that Netanyahu cares more for settlement building than for the direct talks.

The Arab League convened in Libya recommended president Abbas to return to the indirect talks, but made it clear they wouldn’t tell the Palestinian president what to do.

Mahmoud Abbas is expected to make a decision that would decide implicitly the fate of the negotiations at list for this moment in time.